LUBBOCK, Texas -- Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury isnt taking Louisiana Tech lightly, knowing that the Bulldogs lost their last two games against Power 5 teams by a combined seven points.The Red Raiders are coming off a dismal defensive performance in their 68-55 loss at Arizona State. They gave up eight TDs to Sun Devils running back Kalen Ballage, who tied the NCAA record for most scores in a game, and 652 yards of total offense.The game Saturday night gives Texas Techs defense a shot at redemption.Were disappointed in how we played defensively, but I believe in those guys, Kingsbury said. We got to improve it, no question.It was the third loss in its last 12 games when scoring at least 53 points.The Bulldogs (1-1) beat South Carolina State 53-24, a week after falling 21-20 at now-No. 24 Arkansas. Last year, they lost 39-33 in triple overtime at Kansas State.This Saturday night Louisiana Tech will need a high level of play to be competitive, Bulldogs coach Skip Holtz said.Hopefully, some of our younger players were able to cut their teeth at Arkansas on the road and that will help us a little bit where maybe we are not so big-eyed going into this stadium and playing this game, he said.The last time Texas Tech (1-1) lost two of its first three games was 1999.A few more things to look for when Texas Tech hosts Louisiana Tech:MAHOMES MAGICTexas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes could have trouble reaching the numbers hes gotten in back-to-back games. The Bulldogs are giving up just 295 total yards (31st in the nation). Mahomes, who leads the nation in total offense (562 yards per game), tallied 540 total yards in the win over Stephen F. Austin and 584 in the loss at Arizona State. They will change up looks pretty much week-to-week, and they play hard, Kingsbury said. Theyre aggressive, theyre well coached and dont make many mistakes.DEFENSIVE DILEMMATexas Techs defense has struggled for years. The Red Raiders, who finished last season at 126th in the nation (547.7 yards per game), have moved up a little. They rank 117th now (511 ypg). In their win last week the Bulldogs amassed 727 total yards. I think statistically you look at the game and it was impressive, but I did not think it was very clean, Holtz said.BULLDOGS EDGE?The Bulldogs offense could have an edge on understanding Texas Techs defense. Former Texas Tech cornerbacks coach Kevin Curtis will be on the Louisiana Tech sideline in the same role. Curtis was fired from Texas Tech in November 2015 after working with defensive coordinator David Gibbs for a season and as the defense continued to struggle. He joined the Bulldogs staff in January.RECEIVING RICHESTexas Tech has five receivers with more than 100 yards in catches through two games. The leader, Cameron Batson, has two TDs and 172 yards on 12 catches. Its something that he worked on all off-season and he took his game to the next level and its showing on the field, Mahomes said.BULLDOGS QBsRyan Higgins returned last week after a one-game suspension for an off-season DWI and threw for four TDs and 409 yards. In his stead, freshman JMar Smith almost led the Bulldogs to a win over the Razorbacks in the season opener, when he completed 19 of 31 passes for 212 yards and a rushing touchdown. One thing that jumped out to me was for a young kid how poised he was in that atmosphere, Kingsbury said.---AP College Football site: http://collegefootball.ap.org Patrick Murphy Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Ryan Borucki Jersey . 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NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers were fine playing out the stretch run of the season under the old points format that crowned the champion for consistency.Performance will be just as important under the new Chase playoff format, but drivers welcome the looming urgency of the final seven races.NASCAR will inaugurate championship Chases in the Xfinity and Camping World Truck series on Saturday at Kentucky Speedway and Loudon, New Hampshire, respectively. The knockout rounds have been in place at the Sprint Cup level since 2014, but this year will be the first time all three NASCAR series will be using them at once.The 12 Xfinity drivers in the Chase view the playoff as a second chance to correct mistakes, which under the old format was challenging at best.If it was regular-season points, wed have been out a long time ago, said Darrell Bubba Wallace, whos bunched among nine competitors with 2,000 points. We get a chance to regroup here, which is always nice when you get a reset button. We just have to go out and execute now.The Xfinity and Trucks Chases consist of seven races with three elimination rounds. Xfinity winners from Kentucky, Dover and Charlotte automatically advance to the Round of Eight with the rest of the field set on points. The top four from the next round of three races move on to the season finale at Homestead, Florida.Points were reset to 2,000 with three bonus points added for each win. Erik Jones now enters Saturday nights 300-mile race at Kentucky with 2,012, six ahead of former leader Elliott Sadler and nine more than Daniel Suarrez.ddddddddddddJones earned his fourth Xfinity win last week at Chicagoland Speedway and has been eighth or better in three series starts at Kentucky.Sadler is familiar with the Chase after finishing ninth in Cups first playoff in 2004. He has also been in the Xfinity title hunt in recent years with runner-up finishes in 2011 and 2012.The 41-year-old veteran sees the Chase as a chance to finally break through even though his sizable lead over Jones has been cut after the reset for the playoffs.I think the Chase is great for our series, said Sadler, who has two wins, 10 top-five finishes and a series-best 23 top-10s. Any time you use the word playoff with any kind of fan, it brings a lot of attention and intensity to the sport.Even though we had to give up almost a 60-point lead, we understand that its really going to push us to the edge and the limit. The championship is definitely going to be well-earned.Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch won the July race at Kentucky from the pole but is focused on defending his title this weekend at New Hampshire. That leaves the 1.5-mile oval to Xfinity regulars in the p